Child support has changedA transcript of the "Child support has changed - 1 April 2015" sign language video

Child support has changed

Visual:

Inland Revenue's logo appears, together with the title of the video "Child support”. This fades to white.

We see a man’s hand holding a pencil. He starts drawing a cartoon. He draws a teenage boy wearing a school uniform, some groceries and a pile of books on the ground. To the left of the boy he draws a calendar with 2015 on it, and to the right of the calendar he draws an arrow with the word ‘overhaul’ on it. To the right of the arrow he writes ‘Family life today’ and put a line under it.

Audio (in Sign Language):

"Child support helps provide for children when their parents don’t live together. And in 2015, child support had its first major overhaul in 20 years, so it reflects family life today”

Visual:

He then draws mum to the left of the boy and to the right of the boy, he draws dad and his house. He then draws a house to the left of mum. Under ‘Family life today’ he draws a tick-box with a green tick and the words ‘Both parents’ income and circumstances’ to the right of it, and under that a tick-box with a green tick and the words ‘Wider range of care’ to the right of it.

The man then draws a small pile of money, notes and coins. Next to money he writes ‘the amount of child support may change’.

Audio (in Sign Language):

“Rather than being a one size fits all, the child support calculation includes both parents’ incomes and circumstances, and recognises a wider range of care. So the amount of child support some parents pay or receive may change”.

Visual:

The man draws a signpost with the words ‘Sole parent or unsupported child benefit’ and equals sign and the words ‘no change.’ From the signpost, he draws an arrow with the words ‘just apply’ on it pointing to an Inland Revenue’s logo.

Audio (in Sign Language):

“But if you receive a sole parent or unsupported child benefit from Work and Income, the benefit you receive won’t be affected. If you receive one of these benefits, you must apply for child support.”

Visual:

The man draws a woman and man shaking hands. He draws an arrow from them pointing to the Inland Revenue logo and another arrow pointing back to them.

Audio (in Sign Language):

“For everyone else, there’s a choice. Many parents who live apart arrange child support for themselves, without involving us. Other parents make an agreement, but ask to collect and pass on the money.”

Visual:

The man then draws a big arrow pointing down to the words ‘child support scheme’ and another Inland Revenue logo. He draws an outline of New Zealand and a small globe of the world. He writes ‘200,000 children’.

Audio (in Sign Language):

“Our scheme is another option for parents. And we look after child support for more than 200,000 children.”

Visual:

The screen goes blank. Then the man draws dad again and writes his name, Joe. He then draws mum again and writes her name, Sally. He then draws the teenage boy again and writes his name, Tom. Behind Sally, the man draws signs saying work, an outline of a city or town, and a dollar sign. He draws the same thing behind Joe.

Audio (in Sign Language):

“So how does the child support scheme work? Meet Joe, Sally and their son Tom, who’s 14. Both Joe and Sally work full time and earn roughly the same amount.”

Visual:

The man draws Joe standing next to his house with Tom. On the other side of the page he draws Sally and her house. He draws a dotted line from Tom to Sally.

Audio (in Sign Language):

“Tom lives with his dad most of the time, but spends every second weekend and most school holidays with his mum.”

Visual:

The man draws Joe sitting at a desk filling out a form.

Audio (in Sign Language):

Because Joe and Sally can’t reach an agreement about money, Joe has applied for child support.”

Visual:

The man draws a mixing bowl, with the Inland Revenue logo on it and the words ‘new formula’. He draws arrows from Sally, Joe and Tom pointing into the mixing bowl.

Audio (in Sign Language):

“To work out who pays what amount of money for Tom, let’s look at what now goes into the mix using the new formula. Sally’s own income, minus an allowance for her living costs. Joe’s own income, minus an allowance for his living costs. The proportion of time Tom lives with each of his parents. Tom’s age, because we recognise that teenagers tend to cost more.”

Visual:

Below the mixing bowl, the man draws Sally standing next to her letter box and Joe standing next to his letterbox. He draws two notices, one for Sally and one for Joe. He draws an arrow with a dollar sign on it going from Sally to an Inland Revenue’s logo and another arrow with a dollar sign on it going from the Inland Revenue logo to Joe.

Audio (in Sign Language):

“Both Joe and Sally receive a child support notice in the mail. In this case, it shows how much Sally is required to pay Joe every month towards Tom’s costs. Once Sally makes her payment every month, we pass it on to Joe.”

Visual:

The man writes the words ‘recognise care’ and draws a small house with the moon and stars above it, a small calendar with the words ‘103 nights or more’ on it and up arrow with the word ‘more’ on it, a down arrow with the word ‘less’ on it and writes the words ‘care threshold’.

Audio (in Sign Language):

“Of course, not all situations are like Joe, Sally and Tom’s. Recognising care changes the outcome quite a bit. We’ll only put it in the mix if the child lives with a parent for 103 nights or more a year, roughly two nights a week. So, if Tom lived with his mum for fewer than 103 nights a year, she’d pay more child support.”

Visual:

The man writes the words ‘dependent child allowance’ and draws a woman, cradling a small baby and holding hands with a small boy.

Audio (in Sign Language):

“If a parent has other children of their own living with them, we’ll take that into account too.”

Visual:

The man writes the words ‘non-parent carer’ and draws an older man, an older woman and a young girl, their granddaughter. He draws an arrow with the word ‘apply’ on it pointing to an Inland Revenue logo and another arrow pointing to a younger man and a younger woman.

Audio (in Sign Language):

“And in some cases, children don’t live with either of their parents. A non-parent carer, like a grandparent, can also apply for child support. In these cases, we’ll assess both parents.”

Visual:

The man draws a signpost. He then writes a list which reads ‘Both parents: income, living circumstances and amount of time caring for child’. And below this ‘Cost to raise children’.

Audio (in Sign Language):

“So, to sum up. When we work out child support, we’ll assess both parents by looking at their income, living circumstances and the amount of time they care for the children. We also look at how much it costs to raise children based on their ages.

Visual:

The man draws Sally getting a letter out of her letter box and Joe getting a letter out of his letter box. He draws a thought bubble from next to Joe. In the thought bubble, he draws an Inland Revenue customer services representative talking into his phone’s headset.

Audio (in Sign Language):

You’ll receive a notice setting out how much you’ll pay or receive. If you don’t agree with our assessment, talk to us about what you think is wrong.”

Visual:

The man draws Sally using her smart phone and Joe sitting at his computer. We can see that both Sally and Joe are using their myIR secure online services accounts. He then draws Tom leaning on a signpost with a picture of Inland Revenue’s child support website on it. The man writes www.ird.govt.nz/childsupport.

Audio (in Sign Language):

“You can tell us about changes in your circumstances and keep track of your child support payments online. You’ll be able to work out how much you’ll pay or receive based on the new formula and get more information on our website, at www.ird.govt.nz/childsupport.